Notification grouping is a feature on iPhones that organizes notifications from the same app into one bubble or group. This prevents the lock screen and Notification Center from becoming cluttered with notifications from the same app. Instead of seeing multiple bubbles for individual notifications, they are bundled together under one app icon.
How does notification grouping work on iPhone?
When you receive multiple notifications from the same app within a short period of time, iOS will group them together. For example, if you get 3 text messages from a friend, instead of having 3 separate Messages notifications, they will be bundled into one group.
The group will show the app icon and the number of new notifications in the bundle. So you would see the Messages app icon with a 3 next to it to indicate there are 3 new text notifications.
Tapping on the grouped notification will expand it to show a list of the individual notifications so you can view more details. You can tap on any of the individual notifications to go directly to that app.
Where does notification grouping appear?
Grouped notifications will appear in a few places on your iPhone:
- Lock screen – Notifications that arrive when your phone is locked will be bundled by app.
- Notification Center – All notifications are grouped by app in the Notification Center pull down.
- Banners – The banners that appear at the top of the screen when using your phone will also bundle notifications.
So anywhere you typically see notifications on your iPhone, grouping will bundle them to reduce clutter.
Customizing notification grouping settings
You can customize notification grouping based on your preferences in the Settings app:
- Go to Settings > Notifications
- Select an app
- Turn the “Group Notifications” toggle ON to enable grouping for that app. Turn it OFF to disable.
You can toggle grouping on or off for each app’s notifications individually. Some apps like Phone, Messages, Mail, and Calendar have grouping enabled by default.
Benefits of notification grouping
Here are some of the benefits of having notifications grouped by app on your iPhone:
- Reduces lock screen clutter – With numerous individual notifications, your lock screen can quickly become overcrowded and hard to parse. Grouping cuts down on the clutter.
- Makes Notification Center more readable – Similarly, grouping makes the Notification Center easier to read at a glance.
- Focuses on different apps – With grouping, you can see how many notifications have arrived from each app rather than different notifications from the same app.
- Prevents notification overload – Too many individual notifications can feel overwhelming. Grouping creates a more organized, focused experience.
- Less distraction – Unnecessary distraction is reduced by not highlighting repetitive notifications from the same app.
Overall, notification grouping creates a calmer, less chaotic notification experience on iPhone. It prevents notification overload and focuses on the different apps you have notifications from.
Disadvantages of notification grouping
There are a couple potential disadvantages to keeping notification grouping enabled as well:
- Less detail visible – You can’t see the specifics of each notification in a group at a glance, just the app icon and number of notifications.
- Time-sensitive apps – Grouping may not be ideal for time-sensitive apps where you want to see each notification like messaging or calendar apps.
- Troubleshooting issues – It can make troubleshooting notification issues slightly more difficult since all notifications are bundled.
So notification grouping may not be ideal for every app, especially urgent communication apps where you want to view each one as it arrives. It takes some adjusting to get used to seeing notifications bundled together.
Customizing notification settings beyond grouping
In addition to toggling grouping on/off per app, there are some other notification settings you can customize:
- Badges App Icon – Choose whether to show a numbered badge on the app icon when you have notifications.
- Sounds – Select a sound to play for notifications from that app.
- Alert Style – Choose different banner styles like banners, alerts, or no banners.
- Show on Lock Screen – Can hide sensitive notifications only on lock screen.
- Notification Center – Toggle an app’s notifications on/off in Notification Center.
This gives you detailed control over notification preferences for each app. You can fine-tune grouping and other settings to optimize notifications based on how you use each app.
Managing notifications from Notification Center
When you see grouped notifications in Notification Center, you have a few options to manage them:
- Tap group to expand notifications
- Swipe left on a notification to remove or view/manage actions
- Force Touch notification to quick actions like clearing all
- Tap ‘Manage’ to customize Notification Center
- Clear all notifications using the ‘X’ button in Notification Center
So Notification Center gives you tools to view, act on, customize, and clear notifications from the different notification groups.
Using Do Not Disturb for finer control
Do Not Disturb is another feature that gives you more advanced control over notifications. You can:
- Silence all notifications for set periods of time you schedule
- Allow calls or messages from specific people through DND
- Customize the Always Allow list for apps to notify even in DND
- Set DND on a schedule or toggle it on/off manually
So Do Not Disturb lets you override grouping and other notification settings as needed without changing them. It works as a blanket silencer when you need focused time.
Using Screen Time notification settings
In Screen Time under Settings, you can configure:
- Downtime – Schedule time to block apps/notifications
- App Limits – Limit daily usage for apps
- Communication Limits – Limit communication with people
Screen Time offers yet another layer of notification control based on schedules and usage limits. It offers granular control over notifications.
Troubleshooting notification groups
If you are having issues with notifications not grouping properly on your iPhone, here are some troubleshooting steps:
- Check notification settings for the app – Make sure grouping is enabled.
- Update to latest iOS – Older iOS versions may have notification bugs.
- Force quit and restart the app – This will refresh the app.
- Toggle Do Not Disturb on/off
- Restart your iPhone
- Check for carrier issues if texts aren’t grouping – There could be issues on the cellular network side.
- Contact Apple support if issues persist – They can provide personalized troubleshooting help.
Following basic troubleshooting steps like these will help identify and resolve most grouping issues. Be sure to check the notification settings first.
Conclusion
Notification grouping is an important feature of iOS that neatly organizes notifications from the same app together into bundled groups. This reduces lock screen clutter and makes Notification Center more readable. It prevents notification overload from repetitive alerts.
You can customize grouping on a per app basis along with other notification settings like sounds, badges, banners, and lock screen visibility. Features like Do Not Disturb and Screen Time offer even more notification management capabilities.
If notifications suddenly stop grouping properly, there are various troubleshooting steps like reviewing notification settings, resetting the app, and contacting Apple support that typically resolve issues. Used thoughtfully, notification grouping can simplify and streamline your iPhone’s notifications.